What a summer!!!!

I can't believe it has been nearly 4 months since I last posted an update! I obviously decided to take the summer off completely!! Lilly has grown so much since the last update. We enjoyed an amazing summer full of lots of fun adventures. Lilly and I began our summer by shopping...a lot. Brad was not so happy about this so we had to come up with alternative activities. We spent some time with DeAnn and the kids at the Splash Zone in Gainesville and visited our buddy Beckham. The last week of June we took off to Flagler Beach for 2 weeks. This was Lilly's first trip down there (outside of the womb) and we were so excited to take her!! Lilly had fun on the beach...she loved to eat the sand...but she most enjoyed her 3 hour beach naps! Mommy and daddy enjoyed that as well...we got to enjoy to some peaceful time on the beach. Luckily, Gigi and Papa were willing to keep an ear out for her while we were basking in the sun. Lilly hit a major milestone while we were there and sat up for the first time!! She even started to try to crawl. The whole family went, as usual, and we all had a blast. It is always nice to kick back and relax with your loved ones. We spent the 4th of July at Uncle David's house for a delicious cook out. The entire family was together and it was a special time as always.

After the beach trip, I still had 3 more weeks of vacation. Brad was very jealous! Since Lilly discovered her new found skill of sitting up while we were on vacation she started to work on the crawling when we got home. We signed Lilly up for swim lessons in Gainesville. SHE LOVED IT!!!! She would just giggle and squeal and kick her fat legs whenever we were there. The instructor was impressed with her. She would go under water without screaming and she never took any water in. It was a cool experience since Brad and I were both able to get in with her. We will definately be doing the lessons every summer.

Around this time, Gigi and Papa left for a 2 month trek around the United States. They went with Grandma Lil, Grandpa Bob, and Grandma Dorothy. They visited a lot of family and saw some beautiful sights. We missed them while they were gone but we were glad they got to have so many cool experiences.

After the swim lessons, it was only a little while until we went back to school. With me going back to work came Lilly's first foray into the world of daycare. I was really nervous about it and didn't know how she would do. Since birth, she has been spoiled by either me and Brad or mom and dad with lots of individual attention. I shouldn't have been worried at all. From the first day she was totally cool with the whole situation. She has yet to cry when I drop her off...but one tear would be nice so I knew she missed me a little bit!! I think she is even more spoiled at daycare than she was with me! Most days it just her and another little boy in the baby room with two teachers, Ms. Luda and Ms. Joyce. She gets one on one attention everyday. Ms. Luda is Russian and knows very little English but she loves Lilly and I know Lilly loves her.

Lilly is now crawling all over the place and she is FAST!! She is into everything and we are furiously baby-proofing as we see her get into more and more. She is also pulling up and trying to push some of her toys around. Much to my dismay, I think she will be walking very soon and I'll have to start running!!! She is such a joy right now. She has learned to wave, give five, and babbles all the time. She is interacting with us so much right now and it cracks us up. She is eating more solid foods and loves to feed herself. She had cheese for the first time last night and thought that was pretty yummy. All in all we continue to be amazed at how blessed we are to have this perfect little girl as our daughter!!

We have settled into a nice routine since I started back to work. Brad is working longer hours. He has been handed the responsibilities of 4 people and it exhausts him. But he is hanging in there and the overtime money is nice. We just spent the Labor Day weekend at the lake with DeAnn, Sid and the kids. We had a wonderful time and the weather was gorgeous!! Too bad the Georgia game stunk everything up!! We had our tailgate set up with ribs, a big TV and everything but the Dawgs couldn't pull it off. We start back to home games next weekend with the South Carolina game. We are looking forward to tailgating with everyone again and hope the Dawgs have a decent season. We are ready for fall and I am already beginning to plan Lilly's first birthday party...she will be 10 months old on the 18th....I can't believe it!!!